“What’s Your Story?” is a guest post feature on BCBA’s blog. Indie/Self-Published authors are invited to write about their books, writing journey, creative process, inspiration, rewards, and challenges of publishing, etc. They can go in whatever direction they choose. We are excited and grateful for their willingness to share, and we hope you enjoy Shariece Williams’s story. Go here for more WYS? Posts.
Shariece Williams started off in a classroom, always passionate about working with the youth and making a positive impact in as many children’s lives as she can by any means necessary, such as coaching sports, music, dance, cheerleading, gymnastics, mentoring, and more. This stemmed from being told that she wouldn’t be capable of achieving such big dreams at a young age, which made her drive to accomplish her dreams through hard work, dedication, determination, never giving up, and most importantly, having God. She began to do a lot of research on how to make it happen and make a dream reality.
Shariece has ventured off in so many different avenues but always geared back to her passion, the youth. One dream she’s always had was to write a children’s book one day. A children’s book that inspires, motivates, and encourages children. Letting them know that no matter how hard it gets, she wants them never to give up and to work hard. A children’s book that could give children a chance to learn different skills right from home, with demonstration pictures and a checklist. Once she had children and a family of her own, she decided to make it happen for them and based the characters in the book on her family.
She did a lot of research, late nights, navigating, trying to figure out how to bring this goal to reality, and had no idea how hard it was. Being a mom of two and a wife, it was a lot of work, but prayer and faith in God guided her in the right direction. Since she was a first-time author and illustrator assistant, her journey was like no other. With the writing, formatting, and working page by page, there were a lot of moments where she had to take a deep breath. She said it was all worth it in the end. Seeing her vision come to life was the most amazing feeling in the world.
She decided to self-publish her first children’s book Princess Heart Learns to Tumble because she wanted to know every detail of what it took to put her books on platforms, to own everything, and to be able to help others make a dream reality.
From finishing the first manuscript to holding the book, marking the book, and getting her first book sold, she wants to celebrate all the hard work that she put in to the fullest. Shariece is the first in her family to ever write children’s books and self-publish it on her own, so the joy was out of this world when she had the final copy in her hand and surprised everyone with it.
It took about four months for her book to be fully completed with the illustrations. Uploading it to platforms was another process, but she enjoyed every moment of the process and made it all happen. She decided to do a pre-sale to the first 100 readers to have a signed copy of her book Princess Heart Learns to Tumble. When she launched it, she would have never guessed to sell 100 books in less than twenty-four hours! It was a huge success, and the joy was out of this world.
Shariece has always had the vision to motivate people and encourage children and others to understand that the sky has no limit and that they can do anything they put their mind to, and she knows if she can do it, anyone can. She hopes this story inspires others to continue to go after their dreams, visions, and goals and make them become a reality.
Shariece M. Williams was born in Vallejo, California, and received a MA in Education at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia. She has worked with the youth all over the globe: The United States, China, Germany, France, and Italy. She is a licensed teacher, author and self-publisher in Las Vegas, Nevada, whose passion is to make a positive impact in as many children lives as she can. Through her children’s book, she has created a creative, inspiring, and motivational story to inspire children to be beyond great in any and everything that they do.
Connect with Shariece Williams:
Princess Heart Learns To Tumble (June 10, 2020)
Penny D’s First Basketball Game (May 12, 2020)
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